Lars Ulrich’s Friends Told Him They Liked ‘Lulu’

Metallica and Lou Reed‘s ‘Lulu’ might have been one of the most savagely reviewed rock records of 2011, but don’t expect Lars Ulrich to take any of that criticism to heart. During a recent interview with the Brazilian podcast Wikimetal, Ulrich reflected on ‘Lulu,’ offering some candid thoughts on the album — and insisting that people have actually told him they liked it.

The conversation started when the show’s host asked Ulrich why Metallica chose to make a record with Reed. “I can give you some bulls— answer, but I don’t look at things like that,” he responded. “The freedom of being in Metallica… What the success of Metallica affords us is to do these types of things. It’s only in interviews six months later when you sit and talk about it and all of a sudden you have to figure out ‘why.’”

“I never asked, ‘Why?’ So Lou Reed says, ‘Hey, you wanna make a record together one day?’ ‘OK.’ I don’t think it has to be more complicated than that,” continued Ulrich. “I would say maybe when the next Metallica record comes out, maybe in another year or two, I’ll have more answers about this thing. I don’t really know yet, ’cause I haven’t had any distance from it yet.”

Even if he can’t assess the record objectively, Ulrich knows he enjoyed making it — and he’s heard good things from others, too. “It’s definitely very unique, and whether it’s unique in a good way or unique in a not-so-good way, I have no idea yet. The people whose opinions I trust say it’s very good. It feels very good; it’s a lot of fun to do. But whether it’s making a new sound, or paving a new way, I have no idea.”

And ultimately, what it comes down to for the band is needing to stay fresh creatively. “Metallica lives and breathes on being able to do these types of things, and I think that 30 years in, we have to kind of do these things to keep us alive,” concluded Ulrich. “I know some people would like Metallica to make the same record every two years, but that’s not what I want Metallica to do, and I’m not interested in doing that.”